Civil War: Va. Sites Focus Of Effort To Attract Visitors

SMITHFIELD — The Civil War has been over for 130 years, but the battle for tourist dollars has just begun in Virginia, where much of the conflict took place.

The Hampton Roads area, which saw heavy action during the 1864 Peninsula Campaign, will be a key part of the tourism effort, local officials say.

That's because of sites like Fort Monroe, where visitors can roam the damp, stone passageways just as Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee did, and see the cell in which Confederate President Jefferson Davis was imprisoned.

At Riddick's Folly in Suffolk, visitors can tour rooms that were used as a hospital and read penciled messages the sick and wounded left on the walls of the Greek revival home during the 1863 siege of Suffolk.

At Lee Hall in Newport News, tourists can see the antebellum mansion that was used as a headquarters by Confederate Gens. John Bankhead Magruder and Joseph E. Johnston or the Endview mansion that was used by Confederate and Union forces as a hospital during the Peninsula Campaign.

In Portsmouth, tourists can visit Old Towne to see what a Civil War era-town looked like. Then they can catch a trolley and visit Gosport Naval Yard, the oldest navy shipyard in the country. Visitors can see the drydock where the USS Merrimack was converted into the ironclad CSS Virginia.

Although Virginia's Civil War sites have attracted millions of tourists, officials concluded several years ago that there never has been an effort to tie together and package the state's Civil War history, said Diane Howard of Smithfield.

Officials say the potential is there for increased tourism and economic development - and a clearer understanding of the conflict - if the state's history is packaged and promoted.

That's what the Virginia Civil War Trails project is all about, said Howard, regional coordinator of the project and director of the Isle of Wight Tourism Bureau.

John Quarstein, director of the Virginia War Museum and administrator of museums and historical services for Newport News, said the project will offer a clearer picture of the war, especially the Peninsula Campaign. It will put everything in perspective, he said.

"We are tying in all of these Civil War sites with the idea that here is a campaign that lasted four months, included 200,000 men, hundreds of ships, ironclads, balloons and even machine guns. It was some of the greatest technology of the time, and it all happened from Hampton Roads to Richmond," Quarstein said.

When the project is completed next year, approximately 200 sites, including 36 from the Peninsula and south Hampton Roads, will be linked by highway signs and a state map. Each region also will have its own brochure, said Howard, who has been working on the project for two years.

The system is designed so that visitors can take a self-guided driving tour of Civil War sites in a region.

Quarstein said the project is an excellent way to let people know what sites are in a region. Just having recognizable signs on highways will bring people to the sites, he said.

The War Trails project also will serve as a catalyst for improvements and appreciation for local sites, he said.

"A typical site will include a sign with 250-word description to place the site into context, three pictures and a map to show such things as troop movements. The visitor will also have the brochure. Add to that actually standing in the spot where this history was made and it combines into a multifaceted learning experience for the visitor," Quarstein said.

The project began in 1992. The first phase, covering Robert E. Lee's retreat from Petersburg to Appomattox, and the second phase, Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Campaign trail from The Wilderness at Germanna Ford to Petersburg, have been completed.

Howard is coordinator for the third and fourth phase for the Peninsula/Tidewater region. Other regions are Northern Virginia, the Shenandoah Valley, and Central Virginia.

"The purpose of the project is to tie all the Civil War in Virginia together so that when the tourists come they will have a good overview of what we have to offer and they can determine what are the most important areas for them to visit," she said.

"We hope that all four phases have been designed so that if a visitor isn't real knowledgeable about the war, he or she can still find it interesting and enjoyable," she said.

The third and fourth phases should be completed by April, Howard said. A dedication will be held at one of the sites then.

In figuring the costs for each site, officials decided that $2,000 would come from local sources and $8,000 from federal grant money. Although not all sites will require $10,000 worth of work, there is a lot of effort and cost that the visitor won't see; for example, surveys of the sites.